Earth boring apparatus



Feb. 9, 1932. A. MEUNIER 1,844,778

EARTH BORING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 50, 1930 2 Sheets-Shet l l0 InventorFgb. 9, 1932. A. MEUNVIER 1,844,778

EARTH BORING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 30, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet' 2 g 1Inventor Patented Feb. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mars somearramrus A Application flledi January 80, 1980. Serial No. 424,576.

The present invention relates to im rovements in earth boring apparatusa apted particularly for boring holes for fence posts, telephone polesand the like. 6 vAn important object of the invention is the provisionof a boring apparatus in which the auger supporting shaft can beadjusted 1n an accurate plumb-line and having means for effectivelyrotating the boring auger.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a boring apparatusof the above character having mechanism for enabling accurate plumb-hueadjustment of the auger regardless of the position ofthe carrier.

Another object of the invention 1s the provision of an earth boringapparatus of .the above type having means for properly rotating theboring auger from the engine of the carrier vehicle or from an auxiliaryengine 29 mounted thereon.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a boringapparatus of the above character having means for transversely shiftingthe apparatus upon a carrier vehicle ing the position of the boringanger with respect to the said vehicle.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatusof the above type which will be durable and compact in construction andeflicient in use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description progresses. In the accompanying drawings forming a partof this specification and in which like reference characters areemployed to designate corresponding parts throughout the same: T

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the apparatusmounted upon a wheeled carrier vehicle, 7

Figure 2 is atop plan view of the same,

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section takenon the line 3-3 ofFigure 2,

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4'0f Figure 3, 5 sFigure 5 is atransverse vertical section 59 taken on the line'5-5 ofFigure 1,

and for conveniently and accurately adjust- Figure 6' is a rear end viewof the boring tool supporting mechanism,

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 7-7 of Figure6, c

Figure 8 isa fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 8-8 ofFigure 1,

Figure 9 is a fragmentary rear elevation taken at line 9-9 of Figure 1,v

Figure 10 is a fragmentariv horizontal section taken at-line 10-10 ofigure 1,

Figure 11 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 1111 ofFigure 10,

Figure 12 is a similar view taken on the line 12-12 of Figure 2, Figure13 is a similar view taken on the line 1313 of Figure 2, and

Figure 14 is a side elevational view of the brake mechanism. r

Referring to the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration isshown a preferred 7o embodiment of the invention, the numeral 25generally designates the rear end portion of a wheeled motor truckprovided with longitudinally extending frame beams 26. Built upon therear portion of the truck 1s a rectangular shaped metallic frameincluding a pair of transverse metallic channels 27 connected by flatlongitudinal bars 28 supporting therein a rectangular shaped hor1-zontally disposed base plate 29. At the front and rear en portions, thebase plate 29 carries vertical rollers 30 disposed above and below ahorizontal roller 31, adjacent the ends of the plate contacting 'withthe transverse channels 27 for transverse adjustment of the 35 plate.Through the intermediate portion of the plate is rotatahlyl extended ashaft 32 havin attached to its upper end a hand crank 33 an to its lowerextremity a spur pinion 34. The pinion 34 meshes with a transverselyextending spur rack 35 so that rotary operation of the shaft 32 willcause transverse shifting of the base plate.

J ournaled transversely in an intermediate position upon the truck frameis a horizontal transmission shaft 36,- the major portion of which issquare in cross section, while aportion at one end'is of circular crosssection, as indicated at 37. On the circular end of the shaft is keyed apulley 38 having trained over portion of the its periphery a drive belt39 which is also trained over a complementary pulley connected with theengine of the vehicle for rotatably actuating the shaft 36. Adjacent thepulley 38 is mounted a drum 40 rotatable upon the circular section ofthe shaft and having connected therewith and wound upon the drum apulley cable 41 adapted to be employed forpulling fence posts and thelike. At one end, the drum 40 is provided with an external clutchsection 42 adapted to cooperate with a cone section 43 slidablypositioned upon the non-circular portion of the shaft for driving thedrum when required for pole pulling purposes. On the central portion ofthe shaft 36 is secured a relatively small pulley 44 having trained overits periphery a drive belt 45.

On the rear portion of the base plate 29 1s erected a skeleton frame 46including a plurality of upright metallic bars 47 supporting ahorizontal, rearwardly tapering frame 48. The rear end of the frame 48pro ects rearwardly and overhangs the rear portion of a the truck, asshown to advantage in Figures 1 and 2, and carries thereon a horizontalplat-- form 49. Y

J ournaled transversely in the lower portion of the frame 46 anddisposed in a horizontal position on the truck is a transmission shaft50 having keyed on its central portion a pulley 51 over which is trainedthe belt 45. Rotatably positioned on one end of the shaft 50 is asprocket wheel 52 having peripheral sprocket teeth disposed to engage acontinuous drive chain 53. At its inner side, the sprocket wheel 52 isprovided with a hub shaped to form an external pulley section 54disposed to cooperate with a slidable cone section 55 keyed on the shaft50. On the opposed end of the shaft is rotatably mounted a brake drum 56having formed on its inner side an external clutch section 57cooperating with a slidable cone section 58 and upon an outer radiallyextending hub portion with a spur gear 59.

Rearwardly of the shaft 50 is disposed, a companion shaft 60 arrangedparallel with the former and having keyed upon its intermediate portiona drum 61 having attached thereto and wound upon the opposed endportions a pair of 'rope sections 62. Adjacent one end of the shaft 60is disposed a relatively large spur gear 63 keyed on the shaft andadapted to mesh with the gear 59 upon the adjacent shaft 50.

On the elevated rearwardly extending platform 49 are fixed a pair ofspaced bearings 64 having journaled therein a transversely extendingshaft 65. Rigidly secured to the shaft 65 between the bearings is asprocket wheel 66 formed with peripheral sprocket teeth and havingtrained thereover the upper drive chain 53. On the inner projecting endof the shaft 65 is keyed a evel pinion 67.

Adjacent the bearings 64, the platform 49 is recessed and carriesthereina flanged bearing ring 68 provided with a relatively largecentral aperture. Rotatably positioned on the horizontal surface of thering 68 is a relatively large bevel gear 69 of annular form disposed tomesh with the pinion 67, supported upon ball bearings disposedbetweenthe gear and the ring 68. Bolted to the bevel ring gear 69 anddepending from the bottom face thereof is a securing ring 70 of angularcross section having the lower flanged portion disposed to overlap theinner edge of the ring 68.

Loosely fitted within the central aperture in the gear 69 and designedto form a socket therein is an annular member 71 of channel crosssection pivotally connected with the ring member 70 through the mediumof a pair of diametrically opposed radially projecting pins 72. Theannular socket forming member 71 is disposed to loosely support theenlarged bulbous portion 73 formed inter mediate the ends of alongitudinal tube 74, the tube and ball shaped enlargement 73 bemgprovided with a continuous through bore of non-circular cross section.Secured in recesses in diametrically opposed sides of the ball shapedenlargement 73 and extending radially therefrom to engage receivingopenings in the annular socket member 71 are complementary pivot pins 75disposed at right angles to the pins 72 to form a universaljointconnecting the tube 74 with the rotary ring gear 69.

Slidably positioned through the bore in the sleeve 74 is a non-circularpreferably square auger support shaft 76 carrying upon its upperextremity a cap 77 rotatable upon ball bearings 78 about a reducedupstanding stem 79 projecting upwardly from the centre of the shaft andsecuring the cap 77 thereon by means of a nut. On the upper surface ofthe cap 77 are formed a pair of diametrically opposed roller brackets 80forming bearings for a pair of rollers 81 arranged in a co-incidentplane on the cap. Trained over the rollers 81 and disposed for exertinga downward pressure on the shaft 76 is a rope 82 having one end attachedto a hook 83 secured on the rearwardly extending portion of the frameand the opposed end fixed to a shaft I 84 journaled in bearing brackets85 secured to and depending from the upper portion of the frame. On oneend of the shaft 84 is fixed a hand wheel 86, the rope 82 being wound onthe intermediate portion thereof. Thus, by rotating the'hand wheel 86 ina clockwise direction, the rope is wound upon the shaft '84 and adownward pressure exerted upon the support shaft 76.

On the lower portion ofthe auger support shaft 76 is rotatably fitted atransversely extending bracket 87 having upturned bearing ears formed atthe ends having j ournaled therein the spindles of a pair of opposedgrooved rollers 88. r

Attached to the outer extremities of the rope sections 62 are a pair ofpulley frames 89 having journaled therein grooved rotatable pulleys 90disposed in substantially vertical planes at right angles to the planesof the rollers 88. A continuous rope 91 is trained alternately over thepulleys 90 and rollers 88, as shown to advantage in Figure 1, thusproviding a flexible support for the lower end of the auger supportshaft 76 and means for elevating the same.

A boring tool, in the form of a screw auger indicated at 92, isdetachably connected with the lower extremity of the shaft 76, dependingbelow the bracket 87 rotatably fitted on the shaft through the medium ofa coupling sleeve 93 carrying longitudinally spaced set screws 94. Inconnecting the auger to the support shaft, the upper set screw 94 isscrewed in tightly to engage the lower portion of the shaft, while thelower set screw is initially extended for convenient insertion of thestem of theauger and subsequently tightened to securely engage the augerstem.

In order to permit manual adjustment of the auger 92 in addition to themotive power actuating means, a pivotally adjustable shaft 95 isjournaled on one side of the skeleton frame having a hand crank 96formed on one end thereof. The opposed end is mounted for verticalarcuate adjustment on the frame, while the intermediate portion of theshaft carries thereon a worm gear 97. The worm gear 97 is arranged tomesh with a worm wheel 98 when adjusted to a lowered position, the wheel98 being fixed on the inner end of a transverse stub shaft 99. Upon theouter end of the shaft 99 is secured a spur pinion 160 permanentlymeshing with the spur gear 63 disposed therebelow.

Brake mechanism for controlling the rotation of the auger elevating androtating gear is also provided, embodying a semi-circular brake band 101having its lower end attached to a fixed bracket 102 and its opposed endpivotally connected with a hand brake lever 103 pivoted intermediate itsends upon the frame work so that by swinging the lever in a rearwarddirection the band 101 will be frictionally pressed against theperiphery of the drum to break the rotary motion of the shafts and'60.

The apparatus operates as follows: The carrier truck 'is driven to theposition at which it is desired to bore the post hole. Duringtra'nsporta tion, the auger is disposed inan elevated position orentirely removed from the apparatus. 8

When the truck is arranged in a proper position, the screw auger v92 isconnected to v the support shaft 76 by the coupling 93 and in aplumb-line, regardless of the inclination of the truck and base plate 29from the horizontal, through the medium of the universal connections onthe elevated platform 49. The auger and support shaft are then loweredby manually rotating the hand wheel 86 so as to wind a portion of therope 82 upon the shaft 84 and by manually rotating the crank 96 so as toactuate the gear 63 through the worm gearing so as to extend the ropesections 62'until the auger is in contact with the ground surface. Theclutch cone is then brought into engagement with the clutch sectionformed on the sprocket 52 so as to connect the motor drive for rotatingthe auger shaft 76 through the medium of the bevel pinion 67 and bevelgear 69. The auger is then driven into the ground by manually rotatingthe hand wheel 86 and forcing the upper end of the shaft 76 downwardlythrough the medium of the rope 82.

When the hole of sufiicientdepth has been formed, the clutch connectingthe motive drive power with the shaft rotating means is disconnected andthe cone 58 adjusted to engage the clutch section formed on the brakedrum 56 and pinion gear 59 so as to rotate the gear 63 and shaft 60,thereby causlng the rope sections 62 to be wound upon the shaft and toelevate the auger and auger supporting shaft.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes as to the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An earth boring apparatus comprismg the combination with a wheeledcarrier, of a base plate mounted for transverse adjustment on thecarrier, earth boring mechanism supported upon the said base a gimbaloint for supporting said mechanism, and a driving gear secured to saidjoint.

2. An earth boring apparatus comprising the combination with a wheeledcarrier, of a. base plate mounted on the carrier, mechanismfor-transversely adjusting the position of the base plate on thecarrier, a support frame built upon the base plate, an earth boringauger mounted on the said frame and a gimbal joint to support saidauger.

3. In an earth boring apparatus, the combination of a base, a skeletonframe secured on the base, an auger support shaft extending through aportion of the frame and having a universal connectiontherewith, meansfor rotating the said shaft through a gimbal joint and an annular gearfronra source of motive power, manually actuated mechanism for ex ertingdownward pressure on the auger shaft, means for elevating the said augershaft, gearing associated with the elevating means whereby the shaftmaybe elevated by motive power or by manual operation, and brakemechanism operative to control the shaft rotating and elevating means.

4. In an earth boring apparatus, the combination with a support framehaving an elevated platform, of an annular gear mounted to rotateparallel with the platform, an auger supporting shaft extending throughthe said gear having a universal connection therewith, a drive pinionmeshing with the said annular gear, and means for rotatably operatingthe said drive pinion from a source of motive power.

5. In an earth boring apparatus, an elevated support frame, an augersupport shaft extending through the frame, a gimhal joint to supportsaid shaft on the frame, an annular gear secured to the joint, a pinionmeshing with said gear, a rotary shaft, rope members secured to therotary shaft and to the auger supporting shaft for elevating the latter,gearing associated with the rotary shaft adapted to afford connectionwith a motive drive member, chain driving means to actuate the pinionfrom the drive member, and manually actuated gearing associated withsaid rotary shaft for manual elevation of the auger shaft.

6. In an earth boring apparatus, the combination of a carrier motortruck, a base plate mounted for transverse adjustable movement on thetruck, a frame secured on the base plate having an elevated overhangingplatform, an auger supporting shaft extending through the platform, agimbal joint to support the shaft thereon, gearing comprising an annulargear secured to the joint disposed to rotate the auger support shaft, apositive driving connection between the said rotatable gearing and thetruck motor, a rope trained over the upper portion of the auger shaftconnected with hand gear for forcing the said shaft downwardly,mechanism for elevating the auger shaft, gearing conneetin the saidshaft elevating mechanism with th 1 vehicle motor, and means fordetachably connecting a. boring auger with the lower end of the augersupport shaft.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

' ARMAND MEUNIER.

